Mike Conway
2016 Buenos Aires ePrix |champs = 0 |teams = Venturi Formula E Team Dragon Racing |natflag = GBR |2014 = y}} Mike Conway (born 18 August 1983) is a British driver, who was announced to be competing in the inaugural 2014/15 FIA Formula E Championship for Dragon Racing.'Driver's Club: Mike Conway', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, (2014), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/drivers-club/mike-conway.aspx (Accessed 23/04/2015) However, Conway pulled out of the championship before the season opening 2014 Beijing ePrix, focusing on his FIA World Endurance Championship drive with Toyota. Having commentated at the 2015 Monaco ePrix on the live broadcast of the race, Conway returned to his WEC commitments, until being contacted by the Venturi Formula E Team in early 2016. Conway would then replace Jacques Villeneuve after the Canadian broke his ties with the team ahead of the 2016 Buenos Aires ePrix, with Conway ultimately completing the 2015/16 campaign for the Monegasque squad. After a fairly anonymous season, Conway would be dropped from Venturi and left without a drive outside his WEC commitments. Yet, partway through the following 2016/17 campaign the Brit would be asked to return to his original team Dragon Racing, who required a stand in driver for , who was to miss the 2017 Paris ePrix due to his DTM commitments.'Conway to replace Duval for Paris ePrix', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 18/04/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/april/conway-to-replace-duval-for-paris-eprix/, (Accessed 18/04/2017) Background Conway made his name in Formula Renault, taking the 2004 championship, before being promoted to the British Formula Three championship in 2006. Honda F1 selected Conway for their young driver programme in 2007, which ultimately saw him take victory at Monaco in GP2 a year later. Conway then moved out to America in order to compete in Indy Car, after Honda pulled out of Formula One. He would return to Europe in 2013, entering the World Endurance Championship, but continued to enter street races in Indy Car. Formula E History Conway was named as a driver for Dragon Racing in July 2014, using two SRT_01Es in the inaugural 2014/15 season. Conway had already completed the 2014 Donington Test for the team, completing 80 laps for them over four days of the test. Conway, however, would not race at the inaugural 2014 Beijing ePrix, as he pulled out of the championship a few days before it started. His vacant seat was filled by Oriol Servià in time for the first ePrix. Racing Returns Conway would reappear in the Formula E paddock as a commentator for the 2015 Monaco ePrix on the official Formula E live feed, but was not expected to return as a driver. The Brit was not included in the entry list for the 2015/16 FIA Formula E Championship, until a fall out between Venturi and driver Jacques Villeneuve in the build up to the 2016 Buenos Aires ePrix.'Conway to race for Venturi in Argentina', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 22/01/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/january/mike-conway-to-race-for-venturi-in-buenos-aires.aspx, (Accessed 23/01/2016) Conway was contacted by the team shortly after, taking over the seat vacated by the Canadian in time for the Buenos Aires round. A quiet FE debut saw Conway claim fifteenth, almost forty seconds off the back of race winner Sam Bird.'Bird holds off Buemi for BA win', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 06/02/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/february/bird-holds-off-buemi-for-ba-win.aspx, (Accessed 22/03/2016) Next time out in Mexico City and Conway spent most of the race battling for points, only to fall shy of the final points position on the final lap, missing out by under a second.'Fans power di Grassi to marvellous Mexico victory', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 12/03/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/march/fans-power-di-grassi-to-marvellous-mexico-victory.aspx, (Accessed 19/03/2016) Despite this late setback, Conway's confidence was on the rise, and in an equally dramatic late battle, the Brit claimed his maiden points finish at the 2016 Long Beach ePrix, fending off a late charge from Nicolas Prost.'Di Grassi's Shoreline sensation', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 02/04/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/april/di-grassi-s-shoreline-sensation/, (Accessed 03/04/2016) After a race hampered by a poor qualifying result in Paris, Conway made his way back into the points at the 2016 Berlin ePrix, spending much of the race fighting with the sister car of for eighth.'Buemi win cuts di Grassi's lead to just one point', fiaformula.com, (FIA Formula E, 21/05/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/may/buemi-win-cuts-di-grassi-s-lead-to-just-one-point/, (Accessed 21/05/2016) Another tenth place finish followed in the penultimate race of the season, before an ambitious energy strategy in the season finale saw Conway throw away a strong start to finish the race down in thirteenth.'VISA London ePrix 2016 (Sunday: 50 Minute Highlights) - Formula E', youtube.com, (YouTube: FIA Formula E Championship, 10/07/2016), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIYayuaajSY, (Accessed 18/09/2016) Come season end, Conway had scored seven points, enough to give him sixteenth in the final standings. Dragon Demands Venturi decided to drop Conway at the end of the season, having tempted German endurance ace Maro Engel to the team at the behest of their sponsors.'MARO ENGEL JOINS VENTURI FORMULA E TEAM: VENTURI LINE UP CONFIRMED FOR SEASON THREE', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/08/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/august/maro-engel-joins-venturi-formula-e-team/, (Accessed 09/08/2016) Without a drive in FE Conway returned to focus solely on his WEC programme with Toyota, leading them through their pre-season preparations, before once again being approached by an FE team needing a stand in. This time, it was former team Dragon Racing who required the Brit's services, for regular runner Duval would be absent due to his DTM. The change would come at the 2017 Paris ePrix, with Conway taking over the #6 pair of Penske 701-EVs alongside regular Dragon racer . Conway's return proved to be a quiet one, the Brit ending the race in fourteenth despite fighting for the tail of the end of the points throughout.'Buemi hands Renault e.dams emotional Paris win', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 20/05/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/may/buemi-hands-renault-edams-emotional-paris-win/, (Accessed 21/05/2017) Duval would ultimately return to his seat at the following round in Berlin with little fuss, leaving Conway on the sidelines once again. Full Formula E Record Shown below are a series of tables outlining 's career in Formula E in statistical form. Formula E Entries The list below includes all of the teams and cars, as well as overall finishing positions for during their FE career: Career Results Below is a table showing 's full Formula E record. |14th| | |13th|16th|7}} |- |} References Videos and Images: *Manningmbd, 'Mike Conway 2009 Indy 500', wikipedia.org, (Wikimedia, 17/05/2009), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Conway#mediaviewer/File:Mike_Conway_2009_Indy_500_Bump_Day.JPG, (Accessed 22/01/2016) References: Category:Drivers Category:British Drivers Category:Dragon Racing Drivers